London
London (pronounced /?l?nd?n/) is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and its history goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. Londons core, the ancient City of London, the square mile, retains its medieval boundaries. Since at least the nineteenth century, the name London has also referred to the metropolis developed around it. Today, the bulk of this conurbation forms the London region and the Greater London administrative area, with its own elected mayor and assembly.
London is a major global city and one of the worlds largest financial centres. Central London is home to the headquarters of more than half of the UKs top 100 listed companies (the FTSE 100) and more than 100 of Europes 500 largest. Londons influence in politics, education, entertainment, media, fashion, the arts and culture in general contributes to its global position. It is a major tourist destination for both domestic and overseas visitors. London hosted the 1908 and 1948 Summer Olympics and will host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
London contains four World Heritage Sites: the Tower of London; the historic settlement of Greenwich; the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew; and the site comprising the Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey and St. Margarets Church.
London has a wide range of peoples, cultures, and religions, and more than 300 languages are spoken within its boundaries. In July 2007, it had an official population of 7,556,900 within the boundaries of Greater London,making it the most populous municipality in the European Union. The Greater London Urban Area (the second largest in the EU) has a population of 8,278,251. while the metropolitan area (the largest in the EU) has an estimated total population of between 12 million and 14 million. The public transport network, administered by Transport for London, is the most extensive in the world, London Heathrow Airport is the worlds busiest airport by number of international passengers and the airspace is the busiest of any urban centre in the world.
History
Main articles: History of London and Etymology of London
See also: Fortifications of London
Medal of Constantius I capturing London (inscribed on the reverse as LON) in 296 after defeating Allectus. Beaurains hoard.
The etymology of London remains a mystery. The earliest etymological explanation can be attributed to Geoffrey of Monmouth in Historia Regum Britanniae. The name is described as originating from King Lud, who had allegedly taken over the city and named it Kaerlud. This would have had a derivational form Kaerludein, which, by aphaeresis, eventually developed as London. Many other theories have been advanced over the centuries, most of them deriving the name from the Welsh or British languages. It is also believed the name London comes from the celtic word Lyndon, which means shadowy waters, referring to the Thames River.
Although there is evidence of scattered Brythonic settlements in the area, the first major settlement was founded by the Romans in 43 AD as Londinium, following the Roman conquest of Britain. This Londinium lasted for just seventeen years. Around 61, the Iceni tribe led by Queen Boudica stormed this first London, burning it to the ground. The next, heavily planned incarnation of the city prospered and superseded Colchester as the capital of the Roman province of Britannia in 100. At its height in the 2nd century, Roman London had a population of around 60,000.
By the seventh century, the Anglo-Saxons had created a new settlement called Lundenwic approximately 1,000 yards (910 m) upstream from the old Roman city, around what is now Covent Garden. It is likely that there was a harbour at the mouth of the River Fleet for fishing and trading, and this trading grew until the city was overcome by the Vikings and forced to relocate the city back to the location of the Roman Londinium to use its walls for protection. Viking attacks continued to increase around the rest of South East England, until 886 when Alfred the Great recaptured London and made peace with the Danish leader, Guthrum. The original Saxon city of Lundenwic became Ealdwic (old city), a name surviving to the present day as Aldwych, which is in the modern City of Westminster.
Map of London in 1300, showing the medieval boundaries of the City of London
In a retaliatory attack, Ethelreds army achieved victory by pulling down London Bridge with the Danish garrison on top, and English control was re-established. Canute took control of the English throne in 1016, controlling the city and country until 1035, when his death resulted in a reversion to Saxon control under his pious stepson Edward the Confessor, who re-founded Westminster Abbey and the adjacent Palace of Westminster. By this time, London had become the largest and most prosperous city in England, although the official seat of government was still at Winchester.
Following a victory at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror, the then Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England in the newly finished Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. William granted the citizens of London special privileges, while building what is now known as the Tower of London, in the south-east corner of the city, to keep them under control.
The Great Exhibition
In 1097, William II began the building of Westminster Hall, close by the abbey of the same name. The hall became the basis of a new Palace of Westminster, the prime royal residence throughout the Middle Ages.Westminster became the seat of the royal court and government (persisting until the present day), while its distinct neighbour, the City of London, was a centre of trade and commerce and flourished under its own unique administration, the Corporation of London. London grew in wealth and population during the Middle Ages. In 1100 its population was around 18,000; by 1300 it had grown to nearly 100,000. King Edward I issued an edict in 1290, expelling all Jews from England. Before the edict, there was an increasing population of Jews, whereas after this time, the population of Jews began to drop considerably. Disaster struck during the Black Death in the mid-14th century, when London lost nearly a third of its population. Apart from the invasion of London during the Peasants Revolt in 1381, London remained relatively untouched by the various civil wars during the Middle Ages, such as the first and second Barons Wars and the Wars of the Roses.
After the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, political stability in England allowed London to grow further. In 1603, James VI of Scotland came to the throne of England, though formal union took another century. The kings enactment of harsh anti-Catholic laws made him unpopular with some of his subjects, leading to an assassination attempt (the Gunpowder Plot) on 5 November 1605.
